the navel of the earth, and he is the interpre-
ter of religion to all mankind." -- PLATO.


PART ONE

AUTHOR'S FOREWORD

I FEAR the seemingly incredible story which I am about to relate
will be regarded as the result of a distorted intellect
superinduced, possibly, by the glamour of unveiling a
marvelous mystery, rather than a truthful record of the
unparalleled experiences related by one Olaf Jansen, whose
eloquent madness so appealed to my imagination that all
thought of an analytical criticism has been effectually
dispelled.

Marco Polo will doubtless shift uneasily in his grave at the
strange story I am called upon to chronicle; a story as strange
as a Munchausen tale. It is also incongruous that I, a
disbeliever, should be the one to edit the story of Olaf Jansen,
whose name is now for the first time given to the world, yet who
must hereafter rank as one of the notables of earth.

I freely confess his statements admit of no rational analysis,
but have to do with the profound mystery concerning the frozen
North that for centuries has claimed the attention of
scientists and laymen alike.

However much they are at variance with the cosmographical